HERBST MANOR, an 8,000-square-foot mansion built by noted architect Ernest Coxhead in 1899 at Divisadero Street and Pacific Avenue in San Francisco, is this year’s setting for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

“The Showcase is a great place for Marin residents to come for inspiration and find new ideas they can use to transform their own homes,” says Denise Lamott of Marin, the event’s publicist. “And, it’s a great place to find a designer who fits their style and personality.”

The event, which benefits San Francisco University High School’s financial aid program, runs through May 27 and features the work of five design companies with roots in Marin.

So how did the five Marin design experts transform their respective spaces?

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Shelley & Company Interior Design: “The Lee Herbst Gruhn Manor tells a story of luxury, passion and entertainment, richly communicated in every detail of the home,” says Shelley Cahan of Shelley & Company Interior Design in Ross, who took on the dressing room.

“In honor of the lady of the house, I designed a room filled with both modern- and vintage-inspired elements. Every detail is intended to delight and inspire its guests.”

Five Senses Art Consultancy: Art Consultant Alex Ray of San Rafael, and principal of Five Senses Art Consultancy, chose the fine art pieces for the grand entrance, the ground and first floor landings, and the staircase. Ray was inspired by the dimensions and volume of her space.

“With the fabulous staircase, who wouldn’t want to dress this area with art for impact and dialogue with the architectural detail?” she asks. “It called out for sculpture, and I fantasized initially that the owner was an avid art collector with a sophistication for very contemporary pieces.”

She selected a black lava sculpture by Darren Waterston, Shi Guorui’s ghostly photogram of a solitary chair, Sandra Osborne’s porcelain pile of blank notebooks and papers, Dean Byington’s painting using overlays of fairy-tale images and old printing techniques, and the shiny stainless orbs of Randy Colosky’s sculpture and two photographs by Candida Hofer — all designed, she says, to stimulate the senses with their diverse textures, shapes and colors.

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Chambers + Chambers: Barbara Chambers of Chambers + Chambers in Mill Valley redesigned the powder room and says she “was inspired by the belief that a petite space can be clean, polished and sophisticated. Overall, the space makes a timeless, beautiful and bold statement.”

In order to achieve that, the company used clean lines and classic trims and finishes such as Calacatta marble for the countertop, sink and backsplash, salvaged antique wood floor, crisp black-and-white striped walls and a vintage mirror and linens by San Francisco’s Sue Fisher King.

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Jute: Alison Davin of Jute in Mill Valley chose the family kitchen. “In today’s busy world, kitchens are the heart of any family home,” she says. “We wanted to create a space that is warm, inviting and can serve multiple purposes.”

Her team put a farmhouse table in the center of the room where it can be used for homework, crafts projects or dinner parties.

They finished it off with original artwork by New York artist Serena Bocchino. They also used handmade terra cotta tiles with laser-cut metal inlay from Ann Sacks for the backsplash, high-end appliances and a pair of caned chairs from Moss & Moss in Mill Valley.

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Living Green: Davis Dalbok of Living Green uses seven Japanese paintings embedded in burnished silver leaf eglomise as the inspiration for the garden courtyard.

Dalbok built a living wall of conifers, cascading maples, mosses and forest understory, which provide refuge for his fantasy birds of prey. For humans, he provides classic Michael Taylor garden chairs, a stone mosaic table and a demilune travertine console table atop a bronze base of tangled pomegranates.

PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design

and entertaining topics every Saturday and also on her blog at DesignSwirl.net. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield, CA 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.